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Nursing as a Career: General Discussion

Prelife

Lurker
Hi guys. Im at a crossroad in my life at the moment. One way i could go down the path of I.T OR i could go down the path of something I think is much more important: Nursing.

I would really love to be a male nurse and the TAFE im currently attending offers a diploma of nursing which I COULD take but there is one thing that is stopping me.

I actually have a medical condition and its a little embarassing but as most of the people here are medical students I hope you can understand.

I have I.B.S and I require a restroom quite frequently and often suddenly. It has been a real curse in my life but I am determined it wont weigh me down.

So my question is:

Will I have access to a restroom MOST of the time and are there any times when I will be required to be away from one for too long? My biggest fear is that someone will be relying on me and ill let them down. Of course my second biggest fear is total embarassment infront of my workmates.:lol:

I know this question seems stupid but its actually a very big deal to me, and i hope someone can help.

Thanks,

Chey
 

Rotors

Regular Member
This depends entirely on the type of nursing you are doing; if you are a practice nurse at the GP clinic then sure if you are an ED nurse or something of that nature you are often quite busy physically doing things (obs, sutures, casting, assisting with resus etc) or worse yet in theatre where you have the additional challenge of being scrubbed into a sterile environment and can't just nick out to the loo especially if you are scrub or circ nurse.

It really is extremely difficult to say other than broad generalisation to be honest; nursing is a very "hands on" profession where you are often busy on your feet and can't drop everything to run to the bathroom. Even something like ward nursing which is generally obs and pill trolley QID will have times when you need to e.g. change dressings, turn patients, help somebody to the loo/in the loo or shower, initially manage a cardiac arrest before the crash team arrive etc. Same applies to aged care, you often have things to do that cannot be interrupted but these are less because the residents are stupidly stable and pill trolley BID is 80% of the workload.

Depends entirely on what you are doing and where you work.

Good luck!
 

Jordan

Regular Member
It's probably worth your while trying to find a nurse you know and talking to them about it. Especially a nurse in an area you like the idea of working in. They'll be able to give you a really good insight into the demands of the job. Another road to explore is the Australian Nursing Board. They organise all the registration of nurses and part of their work is dealing with health problems of nurses which may impeded their ability to fully carry out their job. Have a chat to them and see what they say, they'd probably much rather talk to you now and be informed of your situation than have to come up with contingency plans when you're newly graduated.
 
its okay. i respect your decision to become a nurse. heck even im a nurse. so you say you have IBS? well you could wear a nappy. if your in aged care all your patients would have one too. U MAD BRO?
Edit: Nursing is a decent career. Its too bitchy. Poor pay. No respect. Hard work. Alot of kiss ass people. Menopausal women. pretty much a slave to doctors. its not worth it
 
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larrypage

Lurker
It is well worth trying to find a nurse you know tell them about it. In particular, the nurse can in the area like the idea of ​​working in. They give you a very good understanding of the requirements of the job. Another way to explore the Australian Nursing Council.
 

Moodey99

Member
I know this might sound like a silly question but is there more to nursing than just responding to buzzer calls by patients? I want to be in depth with the medical side.
 
Hi guys I am a new member and I can't post any new threads here due to having "insufficient privileges'" (I dunno how to resolve this though).

I am currently working as a RN (registered with Ahpra) on a psychiatric ward but I still don't feel 100% satisfied with my career choice.

I came to Australia about a decade ago as a young Chinese international student. Back then we could not enroll ourselves into any selective high schools or private schools in Australia and we did not have a strong academic culture in my high school.

In year 11 I did a PowerPoint presentation on Victor Peter Chang, an Australian cardiac surgeon of Chinese origin. He did some truly amazing work in the 80s and 90s and the many of the patients he saved still remember him till this day. Before I did that PowerPoint assignment, I did not even know such great man ever existed. At that time I also volunteered at the Nan Tien Temple (in Wollongong NSW) and attended church service every Sunday evening. All these things have made me want to be a health professional and contribute to our community and our society. However, I did not know exactly which specific role (nurse, medical doctor, radiographer, etc.) I wanted to get into at the time.

Half way through my BSN degree I realized that I wanted to "go a bit above and beyond" than providing general nursing care (Now I've realized that they are not menial tasks and they do play an important part in the patients' recovery process). I also wanted "more impact" in my nursing career. Clinical placements were quite environmentally dependent and we had "different form of exposure" to the healthcare environment. Now I have obtained my nursing registration and I actually really want to take my education to the next level.

Here are some of my questions:

1. Is perioperative nursing the most exciting nursing field? If I want to get into peri-op nursing (i.e. working as a scrub and instrument nurse), is getting a master's degree in that discipline necessary? What I feel about a lot of nursing fields is that it can be too "holistic" and a bit "vague" in my own opinion. Although I'm from a non-Western background and do believe in holistic therapy, I think I am more attracted to something that is more "black and white".

2. I'm quite introverted but bedside nursing tends to favour true extroverts. Is there a specific nursing research field that we can get into later on?

3. Do NUMs and ANUMs conduct nursing-related scientific research or they are just senior admin roles with general nursing skills in their niche area? What is the professional relationship like between ANUMs/NUMs and medical doctors?

4. Will being a CNS or CNC (in a niche area/defined nursing field) give someone like me a lot of intellectual satisfaction and the opportunity to provide "advanced-level" care to my patients? Is it possible to get some shadowing experience or to know more about what they do by reading some nursing textbooks?


I feel that nursing is not a traditional "STEM" field and is more of an arts field with lots of biomedical elements. Being a nurse is like being a pseudo-pharmacist + pseudo paramedic and a pseudo admin officer with allied health elements.

Sorry for bombarding you guys with all these questions.. 😂😂
 

dotwingz

Google Enthusiast
Moderator
Whilst I'm not a nurse I do know quite a few so ill give a go at answering some of these (and hopefully some more experienced users might chime in)

If I want to get into peri-op nursing (i.e. working as a scrub and instrument nurse), is getting a master's degree in that discipline necessary?
I dont think theres any particular certification you need to become a perioperative nurse. I know alot of uni's offer a specialisation degree in Nursing, but i believe the purpose of these is mostly to get your foot in the door. I know alot of nursing students get their foot in the door by picking electives/placements in theatre's, and use the connection/experience to start their career.

If you look at job listings online for perioperative nurses you can see the essential critera doesnt include any specialisation degree.
Essential Criteria

Current Registration/ Enrolment with AHPRA
Anaesthetic / Recovery experience desired
Ability to work both mornings and evenings, as well as be on call nights and weekends
Ability to work within the team
Good communication and excellent customer service skills

If you do decide to go that route I know that UTAS offers RN's Grad Certificates in Specialist Nursing with a 50% student contribution waiver, which you should be access as a permanent resident.

Is there a specific nursing research field that we can get into later on?
Are you asking if Nurses do research? Absolutely. Nursing after all is an evidence based practice, and evidence comes from research. I don't know how one would get into this field, but looking at job listings once again, most places heavily desire some experience in the field, and a Good clinical practice (GCP) certification. This might be a situation where doing a masters degree or another post graduate degree may be helpful, if it helps you get some experience.
 

JE_FR

Member
Does anyone know how it works after you finish your bachelor of nursing? Do most jobs require specialties or are there job opportunities where one learns a specialty while on the job? I'm asking because I don't know if I want to complete yet another degree right after a 3 year bachelor degree in nursing.
 

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DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
Does anyone know how it works after you finish your bachelor of nursing? Do most jobs require specialties or are there job opportunities where one learns a specialty while on the job? I'm asking because I don't know if I want to complete yet another degree right after a 3 year bachelor degree in nursing.
I'm not a nurse/haven't done a nursing degree, but my understanding is that there's no need to complete further qualifications after your BNurs in order to secure employment and 'most jobs' don't require such. If you did want to do further training down the track, I know of a number of people who've done certificates in paediatric nursing, ICU, diabetes education, management and leadership, midwifery, etc etc, but these are not compulsory and certainly not an immediate requirement.
 

Shmexyoh

Member
I am completing my Bachelor of Nursing degree this year. Applications for the Gradstart program is now open and I am having difficulty with creating a strong application. Can anyone who has done the application or has gotten into the Gradstart program give me some pointers?

- how did you create a strong resume? what are extra bits I can use to stand out?
- how did you respond to the selection criteria?
- how did you answer interview questions.
 

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